Wild Sorceress

by Margaret L. Carter

  Coleni did not look convinced. She had taken her novice robe off and switched back to her lieutenant field uniform earlier in the evening, and now glanced at the robe lying folded on her sleeping pallet.

  "You are right, but you are not the one whose country has been defeated, your profession ended, and who has no future to look forward to amongst her own people. I did not want to dishonor my people in front of you, so I meekly obeyed her command. How can she still have such a hold on me, when I know I can never be part of her Order again?"

  "You don't know that, Coleni. And you can't say my profession is not ended. I am an admitted wild sorcerer, and my future as a sorcerer is as bleak as yours, but we still have a place in the general's staff. It's a start!"

  A figure dressed in black slipped through the door curtain, its face covered by a veil. Aetria's knife was in her hand faster than Coleni's sword cleared its scabbard, but the figure raised its hands above the waist, no weapon visible. It carefully removed the face veil, signaling the women to be quiet.

  "Belanar?” Aetria whispered. “What—"

  "I only have a moment, Sorceress. Magess Corerilla has summoned Fernonia and me. She wants us in her quarters right now! Fernonia came to tell me to get my butt over there immediately. She said Corerilla was terribly angry tonight, ranting against the general and her Hermanian lap dog, Chalinee. I have to go!” He ducked through the door veil and was gone.

  Coleni returned her sword to its scabbard and reached for her helmet. Aetria, still wearing her Sorceress uniform, needed nothing to get ready. “You had better assume your Lieutenant Maetria glamor or the Royal Guard will stop us,” Aetria told her sister as Coleni put on her helmet. A moment later they ran from their tent.

  The Royal Guard watched the sisters’ approach with concern, for the Chief Advisor and aide did not normally run at them. The sentries called for Lieutenant Valetti, who appeared almost instantly from his adjutant's desk just inside the entrance.

  "Valetti, where is the general?” Aetria asked, arriving slightly out of breath.

  "She is having dinner with Magess Trelana at the Magess’ home. Why, Captain?"

  "Did you send any Royal Guard with her?"

  "No, of course not. She is in the protection of the Sorcerer Guards."

  The two sisters looked sharply at each other then back to Valetti. Aetria spoke hurriedly. “Call out the guard and follow us. Corerilla may be after the general.” The women headed for the front gate as fast as they could run.

  The gate guards watched them run past, and seeing a pursuing squad of Royal Guard, hesitated a moment. Their loyalty to the sorcerer came first, but why was a Royal Guard officer running with her? One of them tripped the portcullis’ switch and the gate crashed down in front of Lieutenant Valetti and his men. The shouting match that followed brought Lieutenant Hamilto out of his quarters, blinking sleepily at the commotion.

  Aetria and Coleni raced across the commons, the shouting voices of the men diminishing behind them as they neared the Magess’ cottage. Without knocking, Aetria crashed through the front door and rushed into the dining area of her mentor. Sitting at the table were Sonja and Trelana, sipping at their wine. They looked up at the panting sisters.

  "Is there a problem, Captain?” Sonja asked.

  "We were just warned that Corerilla may be up to something. I don't know what, but I alerted the guard to come and protect you. You are badly exposed here with no protection."

  "Why, Aetria dear, she has four officers of the Sorcerer Guard protecting her,” Corerilla said from the door behind her. Fernonia and Belanar were close by her side, their projector weapons leveled at the four women. Two other men stood in the darkness behind Corerilla.

  "What is the meaning of this, Counselor?” Sonja said angrily, starting to rise from her chair.

  "Just protecting you from this wild sorceress, General Borlock. It's too bad I was too late.” Corerilla zapped Coleni with a small lightning bolt, knocking her flying into the dinner table and scattering dishes all over the floor with a crash.

  "Kill the Sorceress,” Corerilla ordered Fernonia, who spelled a lightning bolt into her weapon.

  "No!” Belanar yelled. He swung his weapon underneath Fernonia's and knocked it upwards, the killing bolt exiting the front of the weapon and crashing into the ceiling of the dining room, scattering energy back down into the room. Fernonia swung the butt of her weapon upwards and struck Belanar across the face, knocking him out.

  Aetria took part of the scattered lightning bolt and slumped over stunned, hitting the ground face first. She willed her arms to move but they wouldn't. She heard the yelling of the guard from outside the cottage and watched as Corerilla scattered the approaching men with a fireball. Corerilla ordered the two men to grab Coleni, and while they hoisted her limp form off the table, Corerilla blew out the study window with a smaller fireball. Shoving them in the direction of the window, she whispered something to Fernonia, and the young woman jumped after the men.

  "Let's see you get out of this one, Aetria,” was the last thing Aetria heard before something slammed into the back of her head and she passed out.

  * * * *

  "Lie still, Aetria. It is I, Loreana. Relax. Listen to my voice and concentrate on it. You have been hit by a lightning bolt, and you have a lump on the back of your head that I suspect did not happen when you fell forward. I have covered your eyes with a damp cloth. I am going to remove it now."

  A flickering candle cast a feeble light around the room. Aetria's eyes tried to focus on her surroundings, her mind trying to figure out where she was. The rough covering of the pallet under her back was not hers, the padding sparse and under-stuffed. Wooden beams above her. Not a tent! Turning her head slowly to her right, she saw Loreana sitting beside her, a soft smile on her face, concern in her eyes. Looking beyond the Healer, she saw a heavy a wooden door with a barred window. She was in a cell!

  "Easy, dear. You could have a concussion, but I am not sure, with that hard head of yours. Corerilla had you locked up after she said you tried to kill the general and Trelana at dinner. None of us who know you believe her, but the Council does not have any witnesses who can say otherwise."

  "The general?” Aetria asked worriedly. “Was she..."

  "Killed? No, no one was killed. Whoever fired that lightning bolt into the ceiling, the charge bounced back into the room and rebounded off the walls. Sonja was standing and got hit numerous times before she fell over. She has several burns because of her armor, but the most serious injury was to her head. She must have hit it on the table when she fell. Kelristo is worried, but he thinks she will come through all right."

  Aetria tried to sit up, but Loreana put a hand on her chest and held her down. “Stay down, Aetria, standing will only make your head hurt worse. I didn't want to wake you until morning, but I think something is decidedly wrong with Corerilla's story about the attack on the general. I need to have someone's account besides the Counselor's."

  Putting a hand to her head to feel the lump, Aetria suddenly remembered something and anxiously said to Loreana, “Coleni is in danger! Corerilla hit her with a small lightning bolt to deliberately stun her. The witch then ordered Fernonia to kill me. Belanar knocked Fern's weapon up at the last second, but I was stunned by the back blast off the ceiling. I remember Corerilla blowing out the window and ordering two male guards to pick Coleni up and escape through the window with her."

  "Coleni is missing. Corerilla said Coleni aided you in the attack. She said she tried to hit Coleni with a fireball but missed, breaking the window instead. When Coleni saw you fall, she jumped through the window and escaped. You say two guardsmen helped her? That may explain why the guard is not trying very hard to find Coleni. I wonder how many other of the guard are supporting Corerilla?"

  Aetria's mind was racing over the memories of what had happened. What is Corerilla up to? It was the question she kept asking herself.

  "Trelana? Power, what happened to Trelana?” Aetria asked in a
panic.

  "Calm yourself, Aetria. Remember, no one was killed. Trelana is a pretty tough old woman. She was hit by the same bolts as the general but did not suffer the burns or a head wound. I have not tried to awaken her; she has had enough trauma this day."

  "What a terrible mess this all is,” Aetria moaned.

  Loreana nodded. “Lieutenant Valetti and his men arrived at the cottage to find Corerilla bending over you, a projector in her hand. There was a lot of confusion going on, with more Sorcerer Guards showing up and no one knowing who did what to whom. Corerilla told Valetti she had disarmed you and ordered you be trussed and gagged for safety. She took complete charge of the scene. Although Corerilla had sent for Healers, Valetti made the wise decision to send for me to attend the general. I arrived at Trelana's quarters just before Council Leader Meldoran showed up to find out what had just happened.

  "Corerilla told him you had disabled Belanar, grabbed his weapon, and used it to attack the general. I said I couldn't believe that was what happened at all. I told Meldoran that, as I understood the operation of the weapon, the user has to project in an Aggressor spell to make it work. Illusionists don't know Aggressor spells. Corerilla dismissed my argument saying you are a wild sorceress and who knows what you know. She could be right about your knowing spells outside your discipline, for you have learned Healing spells from me, but at that point, I decided to keep my mouth shut and try to find out on my own what happened.

  "What made me suspicious of her story was the fact Belanar's jaw was badly broken. I know your style of defense and I don't think you could have done that with your hands or feet. The bruising suggests a club or staff. Belanar could not attest to what had happened because he was incoherent, being in a great deal of pain and his face badly swollen. I've had to put him out."

  "So here I lie, locked up and accused of trying to assassinate the general, my sister missing, with Corerilla running loose, and the Sorcerer Guard acting under her orders,” Aetria said bitterly.

  "Not all of the guard, Sorceress.” Lieutenant Maneles had slipped silently into the room, the two women unaware of his presence.

  Loreana, startled by the whispered voice, gave a little gasp. Aetria twisted around to see who had spoken, groaning at the stab of pain that shot from the back of her head.

  "Please be quiet, my ladies. My presence here is known by only a few. You are right to wonder how many of the guard are supporting Corerilla, Adept Loreana. I don't know for sure, but I would say about half. Fortunately for you, the half that doesn't contains the staff of the holding cells. They told me of Sorceress Aetria's being locked up, and I came as soon as I had determined the real reason for her being held."

  "And the reason is what, Lieutenant?” Loreana asked.

  Maneles crouched down beside the two sorceresses, lowering his voice even more. “She didn't have time to kill Captain Aetria. Lieutenant Hamilto was coming through the door and saw her swing the butt of a projector weapon at someone lying on the floor. Who knows how many times she would have hit you, Sorceress? It was a good thing she did not have a blade, or you would be in a different room in Inhestia—the morgue."

  Aetria sat slowly up, warding off Loreana's hand. “And where is my nemesis now, Lieutenant?"

  "Gone. So is Lieutenant Fernonia. They were seen riding north with a third horse carrying a body draped over it. I think it was your Lieutenant Maetria."

  "Coleni? Was she dead?” The fear was strong in Aetria's voice.

  "I don't see why they would gag a dead person. Her feet and hands were bound. One of the guard who brought the horses to them is on our side; that is what he saw. I believe she is alive."

  "What time is it now?” Aetria asked.

  "A few hours before dawn. They left over six hours ago."

  "Loreana, you must tell Valetti to alert the Royal Guard and ride after them!"

  The Healer's face saddened, and she shook her head. “The Royal Guard has been ordered to guard the general against both you and your sister. I don't think I can convince them to go after Corerilla until Sonja wakes up."

  The Sorceress looked at Maneles, her eyes asking for his help. Before she could ask, he said, “Moving against Corerilla at this time is very risky. It could start a fight amongst the guard that would delay a pursuit even more. We need time to sound out loyalties, time your sister cannot afford. I can, however, guarantee you six hours."

  Loreana looked at the Lieutenant sharply, her voice rising for a moment before she finished in a hiss. “Surely you are not asking Aetria to ride in her condition. She'll collapse before she gets out the gate."

  "I think she's tougher than you give her credit for, Ma'am. Aetria escaping buys us the time we need to consolidate our forces. We could waste a lot of time searching for her trail, for no one would expect her to take out after Corerilla. When we do figure that out, I will make sure I am on the pursuing force. If we're lucky, I will be commanding it, but going after her we must do. I will buy her as much time as I can."

  Rising fully to her feet, Aetria steadied herself on the cold stone wall of the cell. The world started to spin, and she closed her eyes to make it stop. Loreana spoke a spell, and the pain eased, her head clearing a little. The Healer could have put her on her back again with another spell, but she didn't. Perhaps she saw the right in what Aetria had to do.

  "I will need a horse."

  "Taken care of. You will find your armor and weapons with the horse. I will guide you away from Inhestia so the Sorcerer Guard or army will not see you. We must leave now!"

  "Goodbye, Loreana. Explain to the general what has happened, and tell her I am sorry I brought this down on her."

  The two women hugged, then Loreana handed Aetria a capped bottle, giving her whispered instructions on what to do with it. Aetria turned to the straw-filled pallet she had recently been lying on and spelled a glamor of herself asleep on the pallet. Loreana nodded her approval and said one last goodbye as Aetria slipped out the door behind the disappearing lieutenant.

  * * * *

  Coleni ducked a low-hanging branch and took the opportunity to look back at Corerilla riding behind her, last in their column of three. The Magess was watching her very closely. Coleni felt again the near miss of the lightning bolt that had sizzled past her ear earlier that morning when Corerilla thought she had made a move to escape. Riding through the heavy brush and trees of this forest was her best chance, but Corerilla was being very careful not to allow the opportunity. When Fernonia heard the bolt let go, she whirled her mount around and had her projector leveled on Coleni before she could move five feet further. The young Aggressor woman had been leading their little group through the trees ever since they had turned west off the northern running road.

  When she was finally untied and allowed to sit up on the horse she had been draped over, Coleni had recognized the road on which the general's entourage had moved south to Inhestia. Heading west meant that they were riding into Hermania.

  Facing forward in the saddle, Coleni stared morosely at the back of the Sorcerer Guard lieutenant as Fernonia guided her horse through the trees. She thought back over the things that had happened to her in the last day and wondered where she could have gained control of any of those events. Her last memory of Aetria was when she looked at her sister after Corerilla had said, “—I was too late,” and saw Aetria's eyes suddenly open with fright.

  Her next memory was this morning when she had awakened to the bouncing of her stomach on the saddle of a horse, her head encased in a hood so she could not see, her feet and hands tied. She tried yelling, but found she was also gagged. Her struggles to free herself must have alerted the two women she was awake, for the horse stopped, and her hood was pulled roughly off. Her first view was of the world upside down, and filling her vision were the black-leather-encased ample breasts of Fernonia.

  "She's awake, Magess. Do you want to talk to her now?"

  Corerilla must have nodded her response; Coleni did not hear anything. The lieutenan
t walked around to Coleni's feet, untied them, then came back in front of her and, grabbing her by the shoulders, shoved her up and over the saddle. Coleni's weight dropped her off the other side, and she staggered, trying to stay erect without the benefit of her arms for balance. She failed and fell, fortunately landing on her rear. Fernonia drew her sword and walked behind Coleni.

  "Don't move or you will lose some fingers, Novice.” The lieutenant cut loose the leathers binding Coleni's wrists.

  The Magess’ voice came from high above Coleni, and to her right. Looking in that direction, she squinted against the rising sun to see Corerilla. “You have a simple choice, Novice Coleni. You can guide me to the source mine your sister found, or you can die here."

  Rubbing her wrists, Coleni said, “Then kill me."

  "Tired of rutting in the bushes with Lornes, Novice?"

  Cursing, Coleni jumped to her feet and would have rushed the Magess, but her feet had been tied too long and did not want to go in the direction she willed. She staggered against her horse, grabbing onto the saddle to keep from falling. Fernonia moved quickly between Coleni and Corerilla, her sword up and ready.

  "My Hermanian is good enough to know what Chalinee said to you, dear Coleni, and if she felt you dishonored her country, I would not want to be in your place when you return to Hermania. But you don't have that choice right now. I will give you another choice. Guide me to where I want to go, or I will have your ‘sister’ killed. She is in a cell in Inhestia, charged with killing General Borlock and her mentor. All that stands between her and the executioner's sword is my force of will with the Council. What say you now?"

  Sonja and Trelana dead? Is that what she meant about being too late? Corerilla killed them and blamed Aetria! Her mind was filled with anxiety for the only friends and family she had. Something in her said Corerilla was lying because the general was too hard to kill, but she believed Aetria was in the clutches of this horrible woman.